Kevin Makes a Change | CAS

My name is Kevin.

I am a 27-year-old African American. Since I was in high school, I have been having sex with many partners. I was on the basketball team for four years and very popular. I never understood the importance of wearing condoms because no one I knew had any diseases and it felt so much better not wearing them. I thought that as long as I pulled out before ejaculating I wouldn’t get anyone pregnant or have anything to worry about. That was the case for years until one day I received a call from a friend. He was another guy on the basketball team also had a lot of partners. He told me that he had unprotected sex with a lady from our neighborhood and was infected by her.

I was scared out of my mind because I knew I had sex with her in the past. I decided to get tested and waiting for the results seemed like an eternity. I thought about all of the unnecessary risk I took and all the women I could have been infected by. When the results came in I was told I was HIV negative. I was so relieved but I knew I had to change my risky behavior. The tester told me about PrEP and how it prevents HIV infection. She said it is good for people like me that hate using condoms but want to protect my body. I started taking PrEP and have been using it for thirty days.